Pfizer’s new drug, Chantix, which will help cigarette smokers to quit smoking, wins U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s approval.
The active ingredient in Chantix is varenicline tartrate. The FDA gave chantix priority review based on the better effectiveness shown in preliminary trials compared to another anti-smoking drug known as zyban. Drugs receiving priority review get approved or rejected within six months while ordianry drugs get evaulated within ten months, reports foodconsumer.org.Addiction to tobacco smoking is the number one harmful habit in the world. It is notoriously difficult for one to quit smoking since nicotine in the cigarette smoke binds to nicotinic receptors in the brain. These receptors in turn stimulate the reward pathway in brain circuitry. The activation of this pathway gives a pleasurable and contented feeling, which gradually transforms into a vicious cycle of craving and withdrawal.
